Markey Floats Mobile Device Privacy Act

The controversy over Carrier IQ's diagnostic tracking software on millions of cellphones caught the attention of privacy hawks in Congress late last year. Now, one of them, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), is floating draft legislation that would require companies to disclose to consumers when they're being tracked. The Mobile Device Privacy Act would require companies to let consumers know what types of information are being collected, which companies get the information and how the data are being used. It would also require companies to get consent from consumers before information is collected, shared or transmitted.